Kat's Review of The Great Christmas Knit Off by Alexandra Brown (Tindledale #1)

Synopsis: Heartbroken after being jilted at the altar, Sybil has been saved from despair by her knitting obsession and now her home is filled to bursting with tea cosies, bobble hats, and jumpers. But, after discovering that she may have perpetrated the cock-up of the century at work, Sybil decides to make a hasty exit and, just weeks before Christmas, runs away to the picturesque village of Tindledale. There, Sybil discovers Hettie’s House of Haberdashery, an emporium dedicated to the world of knitting and needle craft. But Hettie, the outspoken octogenarian owner, is struggling and now the shop is due for closure. And when Hettie decides that Sybil’s wonderfully wacky Christmas jumpers are just the thing to add a bit of excitement to her window display, something miraculous starts to happen…

Kat's Review: I’ve always loved reading and reviewing, but if I’m honest although I’m far from stupid…I’m also not one of those people that uses really long words and discusses other literary talents that half the time I have to Google (or whatever other clever reviewers say). What I like to do is read a book and if I like it or dislike it just tell people why, and most of the time it’s just my random thoughts in reviews. This book to me is the absolute perfect alternative medicine for a poorly person feeling sorry for themselves with a cold and the snivels (see what I mean, nobody will need to Google that!).

One of my friends (thank you V) gave me a gift voucher for this book as I had been ‘rejected’ as a reviewer <insert outraged face here>, but when I got around to reading it I was so poorly and was feeling rather grumpy. I almost (and I’m loathed to admit this) decided to bump it down the pile for being rejected by the Publishers, but who was I kidding I WANTED to read it…so with a box of tissues and a big duvet wrapped around me I started to read. Do you know what? I read it in ONE SITTING people, it was that good! No it’s not going to be awarded some poncy prize for being a piece of literary genius, but what it will do is perk you up, make you smile and if you are feeling poorly, I swear it will make you feel a little bit better!

Sybil (or Sybs as she is known) is recovering from a bit of a battered and bruised heart. She was jilted at the alter by her ex-fiance and to top it all off she may well not have a job to go back to following the biggest cock up of her career. I instantly fell in love with Syb, a normal woman going through a whole host of emotions with only her friends, her knitting and her dog Basil. One particular friend lives in Tindledale so Syb decides to head over there for a long weekend.

When she arrives she is greeted with an almost picture perfect (well it was in my head) village filled to the brim with weird and wonderful new people. When Sybil meets Hettie who owns Hettie’s House of Haberdashery things take a decidedly unexpected turn and she finds herself at the heart of lots of things going on within the village. Now I know there will some people out there reading this scornfully and saying it’s a predictable load of old rubbish but frankly you can all just jog on. When I want to depress myself I will read a true crime novel. I do NOT want to read a book like this and be left moping because it was so unhappy. So yes, maybe all books in this type of genre are a certain ‘type’ but that’s why I love them.

I am a fan of the ‘Carrington’ series too but in all honesty Hettie and the Tindledale villagers just shot straight to the top of my list. The book is filled with fabulous characters all of whom stole my heart (including Basil). As for the knitting….it’s fab and makes you want to be sitting in the village watching all of the creations! THE single most important thing you all need to know is that by the time I had finished reading this, I am almost positive that my cold had got better, my fever had reduced and I was even smiling In all seriousness an absolutely fabulous book that I devoured and cannot wait for the next one. I shall however try and refrain from repeating the fact that I got rejected…did I mention that?